Today it's my turn to report on the latest developments in the PopLee family.  The 36th week of Marina's pregnancy has ended which means Brioche is on the home stretch, literally.  For those of you who have not experienced the modern twists on the miracle of birth, the 36th week is the moment to get all your ducks in a row so that the event, 8 months in the making, doesn't take you by surprise.  I'm being told the old days were a little easier, at least on the husband. 

One of the most important event of this magic 37th week is the installation of a baby seat in the car.  The basic procedure is pretty simple: stick the seat in the car and tether it to the seat with a belt (provided with the seat).  The actual instructions that come wth the seat are slightly more elaborate than what I've just outlined, however they come with warnings in big red letters indicating that, should you incorrectly attach the seat, your baby may be at higher risk than if left alone in the jungle for a few days.  Needless to say, the definition of "incorrectly attached seat" is absent from the instructions, the safety information provided by the government, and even, from Google (see, there is information they haven't been able to index yet).  The actual process of attaching the car seat is considerably more involved than one would expect.  I started by attaching all the parts to all the parts they attach to, pulled the belts tight and, voila, the seat was flapping in the wind like a jib with a broken sheet (more on the nautical theme in a moment).  It was clear even to me that this probably falls into the category of "incorrectly attached seat".  I started the process all over again and 4-5 tries later realized my nautical knowledge could help me tame the beast.  I'd learned how to "sweat" lines when sailing on the Pride of Baltimore and found out that I could use the same procedure to tighten the belt pretty much as tight as it would go.  In short, you yank on a rope or belt at a 90 deg. angle and can thus tighten it by a few inches more.  Even so, I could not stop the flapping and went back to the internet for advice.  It took all my search expertise to find out that our car's seat is at a wrong angle and I can correct the situation with a rolled up towel (not included with the seat).  Two hours of pain later and the seat if finally attached.  Marina's still unconvinced so we're about to have my masterpiece inspected by an expert.

My maritime expertise impressed Marina though, to the point of suggesting that I can use a sturdy knot to tether my cell phone to my body for the coming few weeks.  Several missed calls during a happy hour have made her quite anxious in my ability to pick up the phone when necessary. 

Week 37 also means the "big" appointment at the maternity center.  We found out that all's cool, Marina's already at 1 centimeter (about 2/5th of an inch) and about 60% effaced (whatever that means, but it appears to be something good).  We also learned the baby's engaged.  To whom, they didn't say.  All these words were explained to me in a more scientific manner: we're 10% along in dilation and 60% in effacement. Now I just need to collect some more time points, start an excel sheet and should be able to predict the birth date. 

That's about all I have for now.  More news coming soon.  BTW, here's a birth-related joke I've learned today:

Q: What happened to the cat that ate a ball of yarn?
A: She had mittens!